The right-hander figures to compete with Fernando Rodney to be the Twins closer next season

Fresh off a season where they were a surprise playoff team in the AL, the Minnesota Twins are beefing up their bullpen. They added long-time arrow-shooting closer Fernando Rodney earlier this offseason along with lefty Zach Duke and now they have struck a deal with free agent right-hander Addison Reed, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Free-agent reliever Addison Reed in agreement with #MNTwins on two-year deal for slightly under $17M, sources tell The Athletic. Pending a physical.

Reed, 29, was one of the two high-end relievers left on the market along with Greg Holland.

In 76 appearances with the Mets and Red Sox last season, Reed had 19 saves and 15 holds against only two blown saves. He pitched to a 2.84 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 76 strikeouts in 76 innings.

Given some of the deals we've seen for other relievers this offseason, this is incredible value for the Twins. Wade Davis got three years and $52 million, for example. This deal is closer to the Cubs' two-year, $13 million deal with Steve Cishek and Reed figures to be a far superior pitcher in the next two seasons.

Reed figures to share late-inning duties with Rodney, perhaps as the eighth-inning guy to Rodney playing closer, but those roles could be reversed. Reed is easily able to handle ninth-inning duties. Maybe the Twins even eschew naming a traditional "closer" and "setup man" and just use either depending upon matchups and the situation.

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Matt Snyder has been a baseball writer with CBS Sports since 2011. A member of the BBWAA, he's now covered every World Series since 2010. The former Indiana University baseball player now lives on the...
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